CVE-2012-5156 in Chrome
Summary
by MITRE
Use-after-free vulnerability in Google Chrome before 24.0.1312.52 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly have unspecified other impact via vectors involving PDF fields.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/22/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-5156 represents a critical use-after-free flaw in Google Chrome versions prior to 24.0.1312.52 that specifically impacts the browser's handling of PDF documents. This type of vulnerability occurs when a program continues to reference memory locations that have already been freed, creating potential opportunities for malicious exploitation. The issue manifests within Chrome's PDF rendering engine, particularly when processing certain PDF fields that trigger memory management errors during document parsing and display operations. Such vulnerabilities fall under the CWE-416 category of use-after-free conditions, which are among the most dangerous memory corruption flaws due to their potential for arbitrary code execution.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability involves remote attackers who can craft malicious PDF documents containing specially constructed fields that, when processed by the affected Chrome versions, trigger the use-after-free condition. When Chrome attempts to access memory that has already been deallocated during PDF field processing, the browser's memory management system can be manipulated to cause unexpected behavior. This may result in browser crashes, leading to denial of service conditions where legitimate users cannot access web content. However, the vulnerability's potential impact extends beyond simple denial of service, as the memory corruption could enable more sophisticated attacks depending on the specific memory layout and exploitation conditions present during the use-after-free scenario.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to organizations relying on Chrome for web browsing, particularly in environments where users may encounter untrusted PDF content. The remote nature of the attack means that simply visiting a compromised website or opening a malicious PDF attachment could result in exploitation without user interaction beyond normal browsing activities. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where users may encounter phishing emails containing malicious PDF attachments or where web applications may serve PDF content that could be manipulated by attackers. The vulnerability's impact on browser stability and security creates cascading effects that could compromise entire user sessions and potentially provide attackers with persistent access to systems.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2012-5156 primarily focus on immediate patching of affected Chrome versions to the patched release 24.0.1312.52 or later. Organizations should implement comprehensive patch management procedures to ensure all affected systems receive updates promptly. Additional protective measures include implementing web content filtering solutions that can identify and block suspicious PDF content, deploying sandboxing technologies that limit the potential impact of exploitation, and educating users about the risks of opening PDF attachments from untrusted sources. Security teams should also monitor for exploitation attempts through network intrusion detection systems and implement proper incident response procedures to quickly address any confirmed exploitation attempts. The vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK tactics including initial access through malicious web content and privilege escalation if exploitation leads to code execution, making comprehensive defensive measures essential for protecting against this and similar memory corruption vulnerabilities.